Blueberry--variety Nui

ABSTRACT

A blueberry plant which bears large fruit early in the season.

In 1969, seed from a range of blueberry crosses was gifted to Ruakura asa result of an agreement between P. Bates (Ruakura) and A. D. Draper(USDA). The NZ objective was to identify plant material which was moresuitable for local conditions. Over a thousand seedlings were initiallyscreened in the first stage evaluation from which forty seedling typeswere identified as promising. Closer critical examination of theseseedlings over several years, resulted in the selection of ten elitetypes. Seven of these ten seedlings had Earliblue, Blue-crop parentageand characteristically produced early maturing, high quality fruit. Theremainder had Berkeley and Blueray parentage and typically producedlater maturing fruit. These elite seedlings were planted out in 1982 ina fully replicated trial to determine their commercial usefulness. Puru,Nui and Reka, three elite Ruakura selections, are chance seedlingsarising from Earliblue and Bluecrop crosses. They are the product ofcareful screening and evaluation which has taken place over many years.

COMPARISON OF NUI AND SIMILAR VARIETIES

Nui is very similar to Puru in many respects; however, fundamentalphysical and physiological differences set them apart as two distinctcultivars. These differences include stem, blossom and fruitcharacteristics (see detailed descriptions), as well as agronomicdifferences. For example, Puru typically produces pubescent yellow-greenstems while those produced by Nui are completely smooth. Puru produceswhite, elongated (cylindraceous) flowers with a faint pink blush, whileNui has more rounded flowers (urceolate) and a more pronounced pinkblush.

Differences between Nui and the five standard varieties -- Earliblue,Collins, Stanley, Bluecrop and Darrow -- are numerous and therefore areoutlined in Tables 1-5. Tables 1 and 5 summarise the main points ofsimilarities and differences while Tables 2-4 summarise agronomicdetails.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the seasonal nature of fruit production andassociated yields in relation to other cultivars, while FIGS. 3-6provide visual support for the nature of physical differences.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NUI

Seedling reference: No. 12.

Flowering habit: Predominantly white with a medium to strong pink blush,accompanied by darker pink stripes. Flowering takes place during thefirst or second week of September which is early to mid-season in theSouthern Hemisphere and after leaf appearance. Flowers have a morerounded (urceolate) appearance unlike Puru or Reka which are morecylindraceous. The average corolla length is 8 mm.

Cluster: Small, mainly terminal drooping clusters of 4-10 flowers.

Leaves: Deciduous and advanced before flowering. Average length being 84mm and average width being 57 mm. Leaves slightly pale green and smoothwith no accompanying pubescence. Predominantly ovate.

Stems: Smooth stems (glabrous) which are generally light green/yellowwhen young and turn yellow/light red with age.

Fruit: Large pale blue fruit produced with a small dry scar, averagediameter being 16 mm and average weight 2.1 g. Can exceed fruit size ofPuru. Excellent flavour. Calyx partially lobed, loose clustered, mediumaroma and low resistance to cracking. Fruit production is early in theseason namely late November to early January and mid March to April inthe Southern Hemisphere.

Bush habit: Erect spreading, vigorous, more so than Puru.

Propagation: Moderately successful (i.e., easier to propagate thanPuru).

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        A summary of similarities and differences between Nui and five                standard varieties.                                                           Cultivar   Similarities    Differences*                                       ______________________________________                                        Earliblue  flavour         less bush vigour                                              early maturing habit                                                                          smaller berry size                                            berry colour    less precocious                                                               larger scar                                                                   extended harvest                                   Collins    early maturing habit                                                                          less bush vigour                                              berry colour    smaller berry size                                                            less precocious                                                               berry firmness                                                                larger scar                                        Stanley    early maturing habit                                                                          smaller berry size                                            bush vigour     less precocious                                                               berry flavour                                                                 berry colour                                       Darrow     berry size      later maturing                                                berry colour    berry flavour                                                 bush vigour     extended harvest                                                              larger scar                                        Bluecrop   berry colour    later maturing                                                scar            smaller berry size                                            bush vigour                                                        ______________________________________                                         (*cultivar differences with respect to Nui)                              

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Fruit productionn of three new early Ruakura blueberry selections,            Puru, Nui and Reka, and five standard varieties.                              Yield per season (kg/bush)                                                    Cultivar                                                                             1       2        3     Year 5 onwards (mean)                           ______________________________________                                        Earliblue                                                                            0.2     0.8      1.2   2.4                                             Collins                                                                              0.2     0.9      1.1   1.6                                             Stanley                                                                              0.3     1.1      1.9   3.1                                             Bluecrop                                                                             0.1     0.5      1.4   5.8                                             Darrow 0.1     0.7      1.1   4.9                                             Puru   0.5     0.6      2.0   4.8                                             Nui    0.6     0.8      1.8   5.6                                             Reka   2.2     2.3      4.4   9.3                                             ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        Average berry weights of three new early Ruakura selections,                  Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.                                  Cultivar   Average berry weight (gms)                                         ______________________________________                                        Earliblue  1.6                                                                Collins    1.6                                                                Stanley    1.2                                                                Bluecrop   1.7                                                                Darrow     2.0                                                                Puru       2.2                                                                Nui        2.1                                                                Reka       1.6                                                                ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                        Pre-Christmas fruit production of three new early varieties,                  Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.                                             Yield pre-Christmas as a                                           Cultivar   percentage of total production                                     ______________________________________                                        Earliblue  69                                                                 Collins    82                                                                 Stanley    67                                                                 Bluecrop   55                                                                 Darrow     28                                                                 Puru       91                                                                 Nui        88                                                                 Reka       95                                                                 ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        General characteristics of three new early Ruakura selections,                Puru, Nui, Reka and five standard varieties.                                                 Bush                                                                          Growth   Fruit  Fruit                                          Cultivar                                                                             Season  Habit    Size   Colour Scar                                    ______________________________________                                        Earliblue                                                                            v.      moderate medium-                                                                              light blue                                                                           medium/dry                                     early   spreading                                                                              large                                                 Collins                                                                              early   moderate medium pale blue                                                                            medium/dry                                             spreading                                                      Stanley                                                                              early   vigorous medium-                                                                              pale blue                                                                            medium/dry                                             upright  small                                                 Bluecrop                                                                             mid     vigorous medium-                                                                              pale blue                                                                            small/dry                                              upright  large                                                 Darrow late    vigorous large  pale blue                                                                            medium/wet                                             upright                                                        Nui    v.      vigorous V. large                                                                             pale blue                                                                            small/dry                                      early   upright                                                        Puru   v.      vigorous large  pale blue                                                                            small/dry                                      early   upright                                                        Reka   v.      vigorous medium-                                                                              light blue                                                                           small/dry                                      early   spreading                                                                              large                                                 ______________________________________                                    

Additional Notes

(i) Leaf measurements were taken on mature leaves and not at the time offull flowering as the leaves at this stage are still expanding.

(ii) Flower numbers vary from 4-10 within a cluster.

(iii) Fruit diameter and weight vary within the season. Early seasonfruit which is produced on primary whips is much larger and heavier thansubsequent fruit produced on secondary and tertiary whips.

(iv) A small autumm crop is produced from mid March onwards. Thisbehaviour is variable and largely depends upon the preceeding dry summerconditions. The small number of fruit produced (in comparison tomaincrop) tend to be extremely large.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of blueberry, substantially asherein shown and described, characterised particularly by(a) a highpercentage of total yield is produced early in the season, (b) largefruit weight, (c) small dry scar tissue.